Bigger Than My Body
by littlemissfiction
Summary: Brooke's alone and hurting and Jake thinks it's someday... Post season premiere, spoiler warning.
1. Chapter 1

Bigger Than My Body

Bigger Than My Body

_**Bigger Than My Body**_

A Brooke / Jake fic.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The title belongs to John Mayer and One Tree Hill belongs to Mark Schawn.

Summary: After 'TMIGTS', the season premiere.

Brooke's alone and hurting and Jake thinks it's someday. . .

Spoilers: Only 'Touch Me I'm Going To Scream'.

_A/N: I am still continuing Make It All Better...no worries :)._

_**Bigger Than My Body, part one**_.

**Tree Hill, NC.**

_''This is my still my store,'' Brooke said to herself confidently. ''This is all I've wished for...''_

Brooke Davis lay in bed, broken and bruised. She couldn't believe the events of the past few hours, much less the last 24. Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, her best and eldest friend in the entire world and Lucas Eugene Scott, her ex boyfriend and at one time so-called love of her life were officially married. Till death do them part. Forsaking others for as long as they both shall live. . .

Another huge bomb had been that sweet Marvin 'Mouth' McFadden and her beloved assistant Millicent were leaving Tree Hill to start over a brand new life in Omaha, Nebraska. She knew things would never be the same again, but she'd never anticipated such a dramatic change so fast in their lives. And worst of all, she was leaving her store last night; she'd not only gotten robbed but beaten up in the process. Well, she thought sadly, at least Nathan and Haley were still happy. . .

Her cell phone hadn't stopped ringing all day and she knew it was most likely Millicent or Peyton trying to get a hold of her. She pulled out the battery and buried her head in the pillows, never wanting to leave her bed again... for as long as she lived.

**Savannah, GA.**

Jake Jagielski collected his last paycheck and called a taxi to bring him to the apartment he shared with his six year old daughter, Jenny. She was getting so big, and he feared taking her way from everything that she'd known ever since he'd left Tree Hill in the first place. He thought about the curly blonde every single day, even though he managed to do okay with the girls, he still was madly in love with Peyton and that's why he had to go back. Easily approaching his daughter doing homework at the table, he smiled at her and she lit up at the sight of him. ''Hey honey, how was school?'' He asked easily, trying to avoid the harder part that was to come.

Jenny Jagielski, with her long brown hair and brown eyes, was a spitting image of her father and just as smart. She was currently working on her math homework, which was difficult but it wasn't hard for her.

''Good, Mrs. Thomas thinks I'm a gifted student,'' She replied happily. Mrs. Thomas was her math teacher and one of her favorites. Jake grinned at his daughter, so unbelievably proud of her. She was the best thing in his life; nothing else even came close. ''Aw, I'm so proud of you Jen...'' He watched her continue working for a couple minutes before he unfortunately brought the topic back up. ''Hey, honey, how'd you like to take a little road trip with daddy? Would that be OK?''

Jenny stared up at him, her brown eyes full of thought. ''Would I have to leave my school? And my friends?''

Jake bit his lip, unsure how to say anything but the truth. When he thought about it, making his daughter come with him just to win back an ex girlfriend was beyond stupid, but if he didn't win back Peyton's heart he'd regret never trying. ''Yeah, baby, but it'd only be for a little while. We'd come back to Savannah sooner than later, and I promise you'd like where we're going...''

Jenny raised an eyebrow and Jake sighed. ''Where, Daddy?''

''Remember Tree Hill, baby? A curly blonde named Peyton, you remember that Jenny?'' Jake asked her after a brief pause.

Jenny thought it over before she nodded. Daddy's first love and where he grew up. The place where he'd met her mother...she hadn't forgotten.

''Okay,'' Jake let out in a whoosh of breath, ''we're going to Tree Hill. See Jenny, I made her a promise and I fully intend to keep that promise I made to her. Is that bad of Daddy to do?''

Jenny shook her head. ''You always tell me to keep my promises...'' She explained, and Jake couldn't help the relief that followed. ''You love her still, Daddy? Is that why we're going back there?''

Jake stared at Jenny, silently thanking God for sending him such an amazing child. She was the greatest thing ever and he was so incredibly honored to be her father. Especially at times like this… Instead of words, he just slowly nodded, and to his surprise, Jenny reached out and touched his hand. ''It's OK, Dad,'' She said happily. ''You need to be happy too... When should we pack?''

Jake smiled happily at his daughter, and Jenny wiped a stray tear from her dad's eyes. ''We'll pack tonight, but right now,'' he reached across the table for her homework; forcing himself to focus on something other than his own selfishness and the fact that he had an angel as a daughter, ''let's see what you've got left here...''

''Nathan, are you serious?!'' Peyton shouted into the phone. She and Lucas were on their way back from Las Vegas, officially newlyweds. Her eyes started to water and Lucas kept staring at her, trying to figure out what exactly had happened back in Tree Hill while they were gone. ''Oh God, we're driving back _right now_...''

''What, Peyt?'' Lucas asked frantically, trying to drive at the same time. ''What happened back home?''

Peyton hung up and looked towards her husband, her green eyes in uncontrollable sobs. Lucas pulled over the car and slide over the seat to hug her close as she fought to control herself. When she did, Lucas's blue eyes met hers worriedly. ''What happened baby?'' He asked again, softer this time.

''B-Brooke,'' Peyton whispered miserably, ''s-she was leaving the s-store and...and...''

Lucas automatically tensed, fearing the worst. He prayed she'd continue and tell him she was okay. Brooke needed to be okay...

Peyton's tear-filled green eyes met his blue and she automatically started sobbing again, unable to control the emotions just her best friend's name brought her to. They'd been through everything together, and now this. ''S-She was robbed, Luke... the bastard beat her up... W-We need to get back to Tree Hill like now, right now baby, s-she isn't picking up either...''

Lucas kissed his wife's forehead and got back behind the wheel, not caring if he got a speeding ticket just so long as they got there to take care of their friend.

End of Part One.

_A/N: Whaddya think? Any good? :)._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you OneTreeHill0983, Suzzy20, and fairytaildreamer for your reviews

_A/N: Thank you __**OneTreeHill0983**__, __**Suzzy20**__, and __**fairytaildreamer**__ for your reviews! After watching last night, I couldn't __**believe**__ that Jake wouldn't find out about Lucas and Peyton and want to come back and win her over! And OMG, Brooke! Mouth and Millicent leaving and Peyton getting married to Lucas all in the same day! I thought who not better than to take care of her than Jake?!_

Bigger Than My Body, Part Two.

**Tree Hill, NC.**

Lucas and Peyton had arrived in Tree Hill around midnight, and they'd reached Brooke's house shortly thereafter. Meanwhile Lucas had called Nathan, Skills, and Mouth and filled them in on her condition. Peyton watched Lucas awaiting Nathan and Skills, although he'd had to stop Mouth from turning back around and driving all the way through. He had taken it the hardest since he was with her only an hour before it happened...and Millicent wasn't taking it much better. Now Brooke's cell phone and her front door weren't ever as noisy as they were right now, and Brooke for once hating being the center of attention.

''Brooke!!'' Peyton hollered through the door. ''Brooke Penelope Davis, let me in!!''

Brooke rolled her eyes, removing the pillow from her head as she realized there was a small mob hovering on her yard. She snorted bitterly before she sighed and stared out the window towards the night, her mind a lot of clouded emotions. Her best friend had gotten married and to Lucas Scott, the one guy who'd almost destroyed their friendship. She'd pawned over him when he was with Lindsey, and now as fate would have it, it seemed broody had his broody rock princess after all. ''Go away, Peyton! I'm not talking to you anymore!''

Lucas and Peyton exchanged worried glances before the blonde tried again, frustrated. ''No, Brooke, I'm not. I still love you and so does Luke. Everyone is upset that we weren't hear to help you, Brookie, but we didn't know it was going to happen and if we did, we would've never gone to Vegas tonight.''

Brooke listened closely to her sentence before she rolled her eyes again and fought the emotions raging inside. ''And here I thought you'd regret marrying Luke, but boy was I wrong... At least Mouth and Millicent were around, hell I even had Nathan and Haley to protect me, but the one person I hoped to be here -- you, Peyt -- you weren't because you were too busy marrying the man of our dreams, weren't you?''

''Brooke,--'' Peyton tried again, but Brooke wouldn't hear it.

''Weren't you, Peyt?'' Brooke interrupted angrily. Peyton could hear sadness behind it and knew she'd hurt her friend worse than when her and Lucas had snuck around the first time. When she didn't answer her, Brooke walked to the door, briefly opening it and letting Peyton get a good last look at her. ''That's what I thought. You and your husband head on home now, I'm fine...''

Lucas saw this and stepped from Nathan and Haley's sides towards the best friends. ''Damn it, Brooke, that's not fair! Peyton will do anything it takes to make you feel better -- she-she'd walked through fire for you, Brooke Davis, and you can't blame that on us being in love. I'm sorry about the past, Brooke. And I'm sorry that Peyton and I snuck around behind your back those times and the harm it caused your friendship, but I swear you have to know that Peyton would do anything you asked without even a second thought because you'd be the one asking...Please let her in!''

Brooke watched the two blondes with worried and fear and sadness in their eyes, and despite her better instinct, she knew they cared. However that wasn't the problem right then. She'd been beaten up and could've been killed and her best friend in the whole world wasn't there, when she'd be there for her in all her times of need. She just couldn't believe or trust anything anymore...

''Fine,'' She mumbled bitterly, another trick up her sleeve. She noticed the sad look in her best friend's eyes and despite how much she wanted it to go away, she needed to let her feelings out too. ''Peyt, c'mere...''

Peyton willingly went to Brooke, engulfing the small brunette with all of her might, almost knocking her over with so much emotion. She felt the blonde stroke her hair and rub her back and cry on her shoulder and she realized she couldn't just tell her to drop dead like she'd wanted to because she feared she might actually do it, and Brooke couldn't live without her. ''Shh, Blondie, it's OK,'' Brooke whispered against her shoulder, spotting Nathan, Haley and Lucas all staring in at them worriedly. Skills had arrived moments later, and stayed out in the hall with the rest of them giving the two their space. ''C'mon Pey, I've never seen you cry like this before...you're scaring me...''

Peyton clung to her friend, never wanting to let go. She cried until she couldn't and Brooke realized she had to help her through this too. ''Pey, I'm OK...really,'' She elaborated. ''I'll go to the doctor in the morning but for now, I just want to sleep. You should go spend this time with your husband...''

Peyton shook her head against her shoulder, her arms still super tight around her lithe waist. She'd almost lost Brooke and that was one too many people she'd lost in her life and if she lost her best friend, she'd have nothing left. ''I love you Brooke, so much! You have to know I never meant to hurt you, right?''

Brooke sighed before she reluctantly nodded. ''Yeah Pey, I know. I promise, if it'll make you feel better, you and Lucas can crash for tonight to check up on me. Would that be OK?''

Lucas, Nathan, Skills, and Haley all stared on, unsure. She watched them and felt Peyton nod against her shoulder before she pulled back and kissed her on the cheek as hard as she could, scaring Brooke all the more. She laughed finally, though she didn't want to. ''Damn it, Scott, knock it off! I'm right here girlie, not goin' anywhere! Knock this off before your husband thinks you're hitting on me,'' she joked.

Peyton laughed and pulled back, giving the brunette one last bearhug before leaving her to go talk with Lucas. He waved at her briefly, they all did, before she smiled briefly towards them and quickly shut the door again, easily going to bed without a second's notice.

When she woke up in the morning, she opened her bedroom door to see a pile of people all asleep in her living room. Nathan was on the couch, while Haley and Peyton shared the one in her office, and Lucas and Skills made due with the chairs off toward the corners of the ends of the room. She couldn't help but smirk at the sight of all her friends asleep in her apartment, wanting to protect her. She was even more surprised when she heard a knock on the door, and being in a bathrobe and pajama bottoms, she found herself gasping at the person on the other side.

''J-Jake?'' She asked as if she was seeing a ghost. He just nodded shyly, a small smile crossing his lips at the sight of her. It had been a long time. ''Hi Brooke. How've you been?''

Peyton heard Brooke up and about, and even more of a surprise, she'd heard her best friend say the name of a man she'd never thought she'd hear again. Quickly getting to her feet, she pulled herself from the couch as quickly as she could without waking Haley before she slowly tip-toed her way towards Brooke at the front door. What she saw almost made her heart beat out of her chest. ''J-Jake?!'' She whispered excitedly.

Brooke noticed the look in his eyes as soon as Peyton appeared in the doorway, and praying Jake wouldn't get his heart broken, she slipped past them outside onto her patio needing some air. She was enjoying the privacy until she heard footsteps and a half-awake Haley approaching her. ''Hey Hales,'' she greeted evenly. ''You guys didn't have to sleep over, you know...I'm a big girl...''

''Yeah but you're our girl, Brooke,'' Haley replied affectionately. Brooke and Peyton were her only closest female girlfriends, she'd never had friends like them before in her lifetime, and the way she looked at it, she never wanted to have to replace them either. ''If anything happened to you, that'd be like losing a part of our family...and you know all of us are family whether some of us like it or not...''

Brooke nodded, thinking that over. She heard Peyton and Jake talking, wanting nothing more than for them to get back together, even if that'd never happen. Jake had left Peyton a lot, but if he'd stuck around and she'd never gotten involved with Lucas, they'd be a lot happier than Lucas and Peyton would ever be. Everytime her best friend would come over when they still went to Tree Hill and tell her of Jake's latest grand entrance to win her attention back, it was like she was seeing one of her favorite movies as a kid. The heroic prince rescuing the troubled princess over and over and over again. Lucas could be a good prince, she thought, but Jake just was Peyton's. No if's, ands, or buts about it. She realized Haley was still waiting on her and slowly she met her eyes. ''I don't know, Haley, it's just weird. We're all grown up now; you and Nate are married with a beautiful boy and Peyton's married to Lucas now... and I guess I keep thinking, who's here to rescue _me_ from everything?''

Haley sighed and wrapped an arm around her friend, softly kissing her forehead before she looked back towards a crying Peyton and a storming out Jake. ''Uh oh,'' She said suddenly, wincing, ''He knows...''

Brooke nodded. She watched Lucas run out after Jake, and watched as Peyton and Skills came to find them and ask if all of them wanted to get breakfast together. Brooke stayed behind, but not alone; Nathan watched over her, and within minutes Lucas was back, nursing a bloody nose.

''Luke,'' Nathan greeted at the sight of his nose, ''What the hell happened? Are you OK?''

The blonde male sighed and bent over Brooke's bathroom sink, nodding. He held a cold cloth to his nose before he stared at Nathan through the mirror.

''Yeah, I'm fine,'' He replied tiredly. He and Peyton were supposed to be on their honeymoon, but one of their best friends got hurt so it was being spent taking care of her and trying to calm down Peyton's very jealous ex boyfriend. Yeah, this was all going according to plan, he thought bitterly. ''Jake didn't realize me and Peyton had gotten married yesterday so they were talking while Brooke and Hales were on the patio outside and me, Nathan, and Skills were all talking, and he tried convincing Peyton that he was the one for her and that he's always loved her and he could be there for her now and he'd never leave again and all that...and when she was about to tell him she was married and in love with me, he'd kissed her and tried to maybe make that work. I mean, I know she loves me because she married me but she could've pulled back just a little sooner, am I right?''

Nathan and Brooke looked on blankly as if Lucas just didn't get it but he continued. ''I know, I _know_ she still loves Jake, but damn it, she married me Nate! She's my wife, Brooke!''

''Luke, it's hard okay? She didn't realize he'd be back... and she didn't know I'd get attacked the minute you two left, just give her a few seconds to recoop, okay? She loves you now...not Jake...''

Lucas nodded, comforted by Brooke's words. He came into the room and slumped down onto the couch, staring at the floor. ''But anyway, I went after Jake and told him that he'd been gone a long time and that me and Peyton had always loved each other...we'd just been too blind to see it until now...and he went off on me and punched me. I came back right after...'' Realizing Peyton and Skills were missing, he looked around the room, suddenly suspicious. ''Okay, where's Peyton?'' He asked, getting to his feet again and fidgeting with his ring.

Nathan stood up too, sighing. ''She, Skills, and Hales went to get breakfast, relax okay?''

Five minutes later the six were having breakfast, their minds all clouded as they attempted to focus on what to do next.

End, part two.

A/N: Ok, there's part two!! Wow, two parts in one day...oo And Poor Jake! I should write a Jeyton fic after this, no? :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Moonman, Snickers4ever, Fairytaildreamer, & Toddntan, thank you for your reviews

A/N: _Moonman, Snickers4ever, Fairytaildreamer, & Toddntan, _thank you for your reviews!! I appreciate all your comments...:) I will reitierate that this is a Brooke/Jake fic, they're the center of this, and yes I am a Jeyton fan outside of that and a Naley fan outside of that. Everything will be worked out eventually... And without further adieu, part three!

Bigger Than My Body, part three.

Brooke had gone to the doctor's and was just arriving back home when she noticed someone sitting on her front steps. She offered him a small smile, and he looked up at her like he'd been hit by a mack truck.

''She's married now,'' She heard him say to himself softly, ''I came way too late. I promised her I'd be back...''

The brunette sat down next to him and sympathetically rested her head on his shoulder. ''You could've have known, Jake. No one could've. Y'know, when Lucas was with me, I was happy. Well, happier. And then one day I saw him with Peyton and I realized he'd never look at me like he'd looked at her so I gave up. Isn't that weird?''

Jake shook his head and they shared a common sad smile. He let his eyes linger before he finally spoke again, his brown eyes full of thought. ''Jenny's at her grandma's...mind if I hang out here for awhile?''

''No,'' Brooke replied. She got to her feet and he found himself following her in, two souls just searching for someone else's to hold.

It was mid noon and she hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until she rolled over and was surprised to see a warm body laying next to hers. His eyes were closed and for once, he didn't look anything like he had when he arrived a few hours ago. She smiled at the easy way he breathed, the subtle way his hand just happened to brush up against hers under the covers. After he'd joined her inside, they'd hung out for the first two hours just watching movies on her couch. She was still sore and tired and angry at Peyton and Lucas, but he made things easier because in his own way, he understood what she was going through. Kind of...

She sighed when he reached out suddenly in his sleep and slipped his arm around her waist, his non-spikey brown hair tickling her neck. She gasped, surprised at how amazing it felt to be cuddled by him, but she shook her head quickly and pulled back, forcing herself to do something else. She quietly slipped out of bed and noticing she had three missed calls, she went and called Millicent and Mouth back, not realizing even Rachel had called from New York. It felt good to have _real_ friends to talk to, she thought suddenly.

Jake woke up an hour later, finding himself shocked at where he was. He hadn't been getting that much sleep, so the fact he'd even managed to sleep was a bonus in his mind. Wandering out of the bedroom, he was genuinely shocked to see Brooke Davis sitting there on a chair in her living room, laughing her hardest at something and trying her best to keep it down as not to wake him up all at the same time. He caught himself laughing, too, and when his laughter reached her ears, she looked up at him and blushed. Covering the ear piece, she held his gaze. ''Rachel says hi,'' She explained a minute later, and he just shook his head and grinned. He liked seeing Brooke happy -- after all she'd been through lately, it was just desserts that she got to finally act like herself every now and then...

He proceeded to take a seat on the couch as she remained on the phone, eyeing the movie titles displayed on the table in front of them. They'd watched _Michael Clayton_ and _27 Dresses _before deciding that sleep was the best option, and he wondered which ones they'd watch next. He honestly didn't feel like going anywhere and it seemed like Brooke had a lot on her mind so he didn't mind one bit them staying in and watching movies together. They had a lot to catch up on still, hell he had to catch up with the whole town still, but not after everything that had happened last night...he'd wait before he talked with Lucas or Peyton again.

Ten minutes later, Brooke had rejoined him, happily her old self, and he couldn't help smiling back at her. ''Okay, so...more movies, huh? All right, Jagielski, what's next?'' She asked as she reclaimed her seat next to him.

Jake shifted through the pile before he landed on _Gossip Girl Season One Boxset_ and _Breakfast At Tiffany's_. ''Huh,'' He said to himself suddenly before Brooke grabbed for the box set and laughed. He hadn't watched television for a while now, but he remembered he wasn't into spoiled rich kids. Grabbing the box set from her, he shifted the pile again until he pulled out _Anger Management_ and grinned. ''Much better,'' he replied happily. Brooke raised an eyebrow and shook her head before she dug back into the pile. ''No Adam Sandler movies,'' She said a minute later, ''Nathan watches those all the time when he's with Skills or Mouth or Luc--,'' She paused, not wanting to say his name, so she just pulled out the next movie and smiled tightly. ''Guess it's _Hot Chick_ for the win...'' She mumbled under her breath.

''Yep,'' Jake replied just as fast, not wanting to think of the two blondes she wasn't happy thinking about either at the moment. He got to his feet and put it in, just realizing then that her face was still bruised and without thinking, he reached over and grazed her cheek softly. ''I'm so sorry I wasn't here, Brooke...'' He said genuinely.

Brooke nodded, biting her bottom lip as soon as he touched her face. She let herself enjoy the touch, but promised herself it wouldn't be more than that.

''I know Jake,'' She said back, wishing he'd been there too. ''Me too.''

He was about to pull back when he heard her cell phone going off again, and he carefully took his hand off her face and returned to the DVD player, pausing it so she wouldn't miss it and getting more snacks prepared.

He almost kissed Brooke Davis, and just the thought of kissing someone other than Peyton was causing his heart to beat wildly outside of his ribcage. He turned around quickly to stare at her one more time before her laughter and that dimpled smile would be the last of him.

End part three. I know it's short...but I wanted there to be more Bake, :)


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